Upon Pain of Death
by Kutlessrocker
Summary: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it." Scott Turow.


Author's Note: Hey, here's another quick one-shot. I'm hoping putting these out will make up for not updating Hearts of the Olympians and Her Scars for so long. I've been having severe writer's block for those stories and I'm hoping that writing these one-shots will help me get things in line and get over it. Just to let you guys know, I don't hate Kairi. She's one of my favorite video game characters of all time. She's tortured in this story, but it's not because I wish to cause her pain. I wrote it like that to show her strength and unbreakable will. At no point in this story does she give in to Xehanort. Enjoy, friends...

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><p>The old, bald-headed Keyblade Master had finally captured the beautiful, crimson-haired Princess of Heart. Now that Master Xehanort had Kairi in his grasp, he knew there was one thing he could do to ensure his complete and total victory over Sora and Riku.<p>

He was going to kill her right before their eyes.

Kairi was chained to the front door of Castle Oblivion, her once-beautiful face beaten so badly that she was unrecognizable. Multiple locks of her shoulder-length hair had been ripped out, and what was left of it matched the blood that covered her whole body, her own blood.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove here, Xehanort," she said defiantly, "but it won't work. No matter what you do to me, Sora and Riku will never give in to you!" Kairi's attitude, even bruised as she was, was still as fiery as her hair. That iron will was one of the many aspects about her that Sora adored.

"Silence, young lady," Xehanort bellowed as he took his Keyblade and struck Kairi with the blunt side. "You know nothing of my methods. The newly-promoted Keyblade Masters will give into my demands after what I have planned for you. You see, they value your life far too much to risk losing you."

Kairi spit out a lot of blood and two teeth. The poor princess was in so much pain, but she didn't give Xehanort the benefit of seeing it. She kept herself calm even though she wanted to scream and cry from the immense, unimaginable pain she felt. She felt as though her whole body had been ignited and she was slowly burning. Actually, Xehanort had already burned her in multiple places with Firaga spells. "You know nothing of Sora and Riku, Master Xehanort. They know me better than anyone else and they know I'd rather die than to watch you conquer everything."

In a fit of contempt, she pooled some blood in her mouth that was pouring from where her teeth had previously been. She spat the mix of blood, mucous, and saliva at the aged Master's face. "Insolent child," he muttered as he wiped it off. "You'll pay for that with your death. And I'll be sure that Riku and Sora will be watching. Nothing will break them more than seeing the woman they love die slowly."

"Go ahead and kill me," she said, laughing slightly. "Your plan will just backfire anyway." They had been fighting Master Xehanort for three years, ever since Sora got the King's letter. She was now eighteen and staring her death right in the face. Even though she was dying, she still remained strong. The young Princess wouldn't let Master Xehanort see any weakness or how truly afraid she was.

"Oh believe me, I will kill you child, but not until the Keyblade Masters arrive." Xehanort took her chin in his hand. "I want them to watch you take your last breath," he said sadistically.

That last comment made Kairi gasp. Even through her strong front, she was still afraid. But she knew that she had to remain strong for Sora and Riku. They wouldn't want her to be weak and just give in. She was going to die. Her fate had already been sealed, and nobody could save her. But she would die knowing she didn't give Xehanort any pleasure in her fear. "I must attend to certain matters, young Kairi," the evil monster said, as if talking to anyone else and not a prisoner. "I shall return when Sora and Riku finally find us."

As Xehanort walked away, Kairi let out the tears she'd been holding back for the past few days he'd been torturing her. She whimpered in pain and grief. She was supposed to graduate high school with Sora that year. They'd been given a special program by their school that let them study as they traveled to other worlds, relaying their assignments through messages sent to and from the Highwind. It dawned on her the day before that she'd never get to walk down that aisle and get her high school diploma. She'd never go to college, get into her dream career, or settle down and get married. She knew that this was her last day. She realized she was about to die, and Kairi was having a hard time coming to terms with it. Although, she'd never let Xehanort know that. Kairi's strength, though reaching its limits, would carry her into death's arms with a smile on her face.

The aging Master appeared through a Corridor of Darkness a few minutes later, Keyblade in hand and a smirk on his wrinkled, leathery face. Kairi gave him the cruelest death-glare she could manage, though she knew she probably looked silly doing it. She was missing clumps of hair, had lost half of her teeth, her left eye was almost swollen shut, and her once cute nose was broken and healed very crooked. It was hard to tell that this broken woman was even Kairi at all.

Master Xehanort swung his Keyblade. Kairi thought he was going to decapitate her, but instead, the blade made contact with the chain that had her hanging in front of the large door. Kairi collapsed to the ground in absolute agony. Her ankles had been broken, and when she landed on them, they felt like they were breaking all over again. She held in her screams as best she could. "Get up child," he said callously.

Kairi stood on her broken ankles. Xehanort cast a Cura spell on her to relieve her pain just enough so she could stand normally. He unlocked the shackles that were around her wrists. They were bloody from three full days of hanging by them a few inches above the ground. "What do you want from me?" she asked, enraged. If he hadn't used an ancient spell to strip away her Keyblade-wielding ability, she probably would have attacked him. But this girl was defenseless. She was just the way she had been before Riku gave her Destiny's Embrace three years ago.

"Your boyfriend and best friend are on their way here," Master Xehanort said. "It is time for them to watch you suffer."

As if on cue, Sora and Riku came charging down the path to Castle Oblivion. They stopped when they were around forty feet away from Xehanort and Kairi. Sora's face turned from shock, to sadness, and finally to anger when he saw Kairi and what Master Xehanort had done to her. "Kairi…is that…really you?" he asked with tears in his voice.

"Sora," she said in a dark tone similar to how she said his name four years before when the Destiny Islands were being destroyed. "Riku…you two actually came to find me." There was no emotion in her voice. She knew that if she allowed herself to feel, that her emotions would betray her.

"Kairi, get out of here!" Sora yelled.

"She can leave if she pleases," Master Xehanort said, shoving Kairi toward Sora and Riku.

In a complete lapse of judgment, Kairi ran toward Sora and Riku. She wasn't thinking clearly. She was just happy to finally see her two best friends again. She didn't realize that Xehanort was holding his Keyblade up, charging a beam of Darkness. The monstrous Master unleashed the fury of his Darkness in a sharp, concentrated beam. Kairi didn't even have time to gasp as the beam entered her back, pierced her heart, and exited just above her left breast.

"Kairi, no!" Sora screamed as she fell to the ground. He caught her just in time before she hit the cold, snowy terrain. "Kairi please don't die!" But despite his pleas, it was too late. No Curaga spell could repair the damage that had been done. That type of magic could heal exterior wounds, internal bleeding, and repair damaged organs, but it couldn't form new organs. Kairi's heart had exploded from the beam of Darkness that penetrated it.

"Sora…I…I lo…love y…y…you," she said with her last breath. Kairi's eyes went out of focus and she exhaled one final time before her entire body went limp and her soul departed for the Underworld on Olympus.

Riku stood over Sora's shoulder, in shock from what he'd just witnessed. If there was ever a time Riku had been vulnerable and weak, that was the time. His knees gave way as he caught himself. He hung his head down and shed mournful tears for the girl that had been his Light while he was possessed by Xehanort. And now, that light had been forever extinguished by Xehanort himself.

Sora took two of his fingers and gently closed Kairi's eyes. He kissed her cold, swollen, bloody lips and forehead before laying her lifeless body on the snow-covered ground. He was coming to terms with the fact that his fiery, red-head lover was gone. He'd never hear her sweet laugh, see her smile, or feel her warm touch again until he himself died and went to Elysium. "You'll pay for this Xehanort," he said as he drew Oathkeeper, Kairi's good luck charm. It wasn't his most powerful keychain, but he felt that it was appropriate. "Riku, I'll handle this myself."

Xehanort's eyes opened wide in shock when he saw how his plan was unfolding right before his eyes. He didn't anticipate Sora to strike in revenge. It was a completely different Sora than he had fought as Ansem: Seeker of Darkness and as Xemnas. This Sora was the one who eliminated the Organization members of Castle Oblivion for merely threatening Namine; Kairi's Nobody, who was also dead now that Kairi was deceased.

The elderly Master tried to raise his Keyblade to deflect Sora's blow, but the younger Master teleported behind the old man and struck from behind. The blow sent Master Xehanort's Keyblade flying in the air. Sora grabbed it before it fell to the ground and instantly appeared in front of Xehanort, who was now kneeling on the ground. Sora held both Keyblades at Xehanort's neck in a scissor form, preparing to kill the Master. "You can't end me like this Sora," he said. "You're too much Light to do something so Dark."

"You killed Kairi. Did you think you could just get away with that without awakening the Heartless inside me?" Sora asked coldly. His eyes flickered yellow and dark tendrils encircled his arms. "You're dead," Sora said as he swiftly jerked his arms apart and decapitated Xehanort. The Master's severed head rolled to the ground with a look of absolute terror in his yellow eyes.

It was after Xehanort's Keyblade disappeared and Sora collapsed in exhaustion that all of this hit him like a freight train. He realized what he'd done, how he'd killed Xehanort out of rage and hatred. He was shocked that he'd do such a thing, but he wasn't sorry. And he knew that Kairi anticipated he'd do something like that before she died. Sora had avenged her and saved the worlds, but his world was damaged beyond repair.

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><p>Author's Note: So, how did you like it? Sad, wasn't it? And we got to see Sora's Heartless side again. In the story, he was almost over the edge and almost turned into Anti-Form where he stood. Thank you for enjoying my stories and hopefully I can get over this writer's block and get you guys Hearts of the Olympians again soon. I promise I'll not take a month. It WILL be finished soon. Until next time, friends...<p> 


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